Ask Minimalist Beauty–Help My Dry Color Treated Hair

Changing the natural color of your hair can be a lot of fun. It can brighten your skin, make your eyes brighter, provide a signature look, and polish your overall appearance. The problem with chemical hair color is that it contains extremely toxic chemicals which are very unhealthy for the body. These chemicals can also damage your hair’s structure, and even change the porosity of your hair which is the ability of the hair to absorb water and maintain moisture. In the end you hair may feel dry, lackluster, and start breaking off.

Lightening the hair with bleach strips the hair cuticle more so than darkening your natural hair color. In my opinion avoiding chemical hair dyes completely is vital to optimum hair health. There are other natural alternatives to lightening and darkening your hair.

Using henna, cassia, and indigo combinations can create various hair colors while also strengthening and conditioning the hair. There are even women who have lightened their hair naturally with honey hair treatments which release a natural hydrogen peroxide. You can read more about hair color and honey hair lightening here. One of the Minimalist Beauty readers commented in the article The Curly Girl Method, To Herbal Hair Cleansers, Now Water Only–Part 2 about her dry color treated hair.

“Hi Dawn,
Okay I have been browsing your site for two months. Thank you for the info. So here is my question, I have natural color treated hair that is extremely dry and brittle. I feel that it needs a clarifying treatment and moisture. Most of the conditioners I use have cones (silicones) and I think that may be contributing the dryness issue. Do have any recommendations? My hair needs help.”

Hi Trish,

Whenever I have colored my hair in the past with anything other than henna or indigo, the chemicals in hair color have created hair damage in some form. Deep conditioning treatments are the most important thing that you can do. Coconut milk and a puréed banana is one of my favorite deep conditioners.

Silicones in products are false conditioners and hair smoothers. They only make the hair “feel” better but don’t improve the true nature of hair. Silicones also block water and moisture from entering the hair once applied.

You can try clarifying your hair with a diluted apple cider vinegar rinse and skip traditional shampoos all together which strip the hair. Apple cider vinegar rinses have proven to be a very effective hair and scalp cleanser. Other simple and effective natural hair cleansers can be found in No More Chemical Hair Care–Part 2–Herbal Hair Cleansers. Using yucca root may work well for you as it is very gentle and conditioning too.

You may also want to slowly trim off the color treated hair with monthly micro trims (1/8 inch trims) to transition to healthier hair. If your hair is extremely damaged then trimming off 1/2 an inch per month will maintain the current length of your hair and get rid of the damaged hair sooner. Hair grows an average of 1/2 inch per month. I provide tips for transitioning to healthy hair from chemicals and heat damage in this article.

Even trying cassia or henna treatments to strengthen and fill in the damaged areas of the hair cuticle may help as well. Strengthening the hair while also have an enriched hair color is the benefit of using henna and henna, cassia, and indigo combinations. While strengthening the hair, wearing your hair in protective styles such as twists in updos or buns would be helpful in keeping the dry ends of your hair from breakage.

Lastly you could begin water only hair washing which would eliminate all dry hair issues all together. You would have to begin this method with a lot of natural herbal or food based deep conditioning treatments for dry color treated hair during the transition to avoid breakage while your natural oils are traveling down your hair strands. Once you reach full coverage of your own natural hair oils on your hair you would be good to go. The natural oils produced from your scalp are better than any conditioner on the market.

Best wishes and keep us posted on your progress!

Have you ever had damage from color treated hair? How did you recover and what tips do you have to add?

Hey Dawn, thank you for your amazing tips. I am going to try the water only method, but I am concerned about tangling. I have very coily hair which loves to wrap around each other and create knots. Condtioners have been my best friend, and the thought of “no conditioner” makes me cringe, but I am willing to give it a try.
I know something about henna treatments, but cassia is something I have no knowledge of. I plan to stop coloring my hair is cassia recommended for color?

Hi Trish,
You are so welcome! Twists are extremely helpful for beginning the water only hair method. To prevent tangles make sure to add oils to the ends of your hair. I also use oil rinses which are my saving grace with detangling. I use specifically wheat germ oil as it mixes with my natural oils in a very specific way different than other carrier oils. I included links to other resources in the water only hair series so make sure you do your own research as well. <3

Great post! I agree with the micro-trims. I have been having my hair professionally colored blonde and brown/red for nearly 10-15 years, with an occasional diy blonde with chemicals and/or peroxide. By next the next month or two all of the color should be gone. It took longer because I wasn’t able to part with 1/2″ each month. It is better when you adhere to a method that works with your lifestyle 🙂

I asked my middle sister how far back does she remember my hair being this dark (auburn/dusty brown) and she just laughed…

Dawn is awesome at her suggestions. Trish, I hope they work for you like they have worked for me, I have tried and loved the herbal rinses, henna, and water only washing.

Trish, I could have said exactly the same about my coils. My hair looooves conditioner. Since a few months, I think about a year or two I only use hennae to colour my hair and it looks good, a bit dry time to time. I would so much love to begin the water only method, but as I still blow dry my hair time to time I was wondering if it will be ok, and I work in an important company as well so look is very important, and I don’t always master the outcomes of my curly hair.I am cute with my curly natural hair and have lots of attention from men ( I am single), but when it is blow dry and straight with lots of volume, I feel just so sexy, like a tiger or lion that nobody can resist. I am now 30 and will be 31 in a few days so I want to look my best to attract the best… Sorry for this long post, I just wanted to explain the dilemma I am facing lol. Have an amazing Sunday you and your family. Kisses and hugs from Paris. Norma

You can do water only hair washing with blow dried hair if you incorporate a boar bristle brush or natural hair baby brush into your daily hair regimen. It is important to distribute your natural oils down the length of your hair daily. I prefer rinsing daily to do this, yet many use a boar bristle brush for straight hair. You obviously won’t be rinsing daily though.

You just want to make sure that you have full coverage of your natural oils before brushing dry hair. There will be some trial and error to see what works best for you. I stopped using heat on my hair recently so have no experience with this myself. <3

One of the healthiest ways to color hair is with henna especially if you want to dye your hair red. Mountain Rose Herbs creates an organic henna and offers shades other than red by mixing henna with indigo and/or cassia. When I wanted to darken my hair I used their henna and wrote about it here.

One thing to keep in mind is that red is the most difficult color to cover or change whether it is a natural dye or chemical dye. Henna still is the better option as it will strengthen and condition your hair. I have shared a lot about henna on this blog so definitely do your research before you jump in.

Hi Dawn,
Love your Website!☆ I was wondering if you have used any henna found in stores like Whole Foods or Sprouts? I’m considering using Light Mountain, Surya Brasil, Logona, or Rainbow brands of henna. Have you any experience with them? Are they lasting? Will they darken lightened brassy brown hair to a dark brown/black color?
Thanks so much,
Clarissa

Hi Clarissa,
Thank you! I’ve only used body art quality henna from Indian grocery stores (a few listed here) and Mountain Rose Herbs Henna which I wrote about here. If you were to try another brand use only pure henna that may be mixed with cassia or indigo for various colors and not other chemical additives. Light Mountain Henna seems to be a good option although I’ve not tried it. Happy hennaing!